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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23432359">A Little too Literally</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/GothicDeetz/pseuds/GothicDeetz'>GothicDeetz</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Maitland-Deetz One Shots [16]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Beetlejuice - All Media Types, Beetlejuice - Perfect/Brown &amp; King</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, April Fools' Day, Bonding, Dead People, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Families of Choice, Family, Family Bonding, Family Shenanigans, Father Figures, Father-Daughter Relationship, Found Family, Gen, Ghosts, Happy Ending, Hijinks &amp; Shenanigans, Invisibility, Jokes, Mother Figures, Multi, One Big Happy Family, Other, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Step-parents, Talking, Talking To Dead People, Tickle Fights, Tickling, goofing off</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 05:36:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,216</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23432359</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/GothicDeetz/pseuds/GothicDeetz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Lydia pulls an April Fools’ Day joke on the Maitlands and they end up pulling one on her.</p><p>(Written for April Fools’ Day.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adam Maitland/Barbara Maitland, Charles Deetz &amp; Delia Deetz &amp; Adam Maitland &amp; Barbara Maitland, Charles Deetz &amp; Delia Deetz &amp; Lydia Deetz &amp; Adam Maitland &amp; Barbara Maitland, Charles Deetz/Delia Deetz, Lydia Deetz &amp; Adam Maitland &amp; Barbara Maitland</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Maitland-Deetz One Shots [16]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1668409</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Little too Literally</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Barbara entered the kitchen of the Maitland-Deetz house and sat herself down next to Lydia. But the teenager didn’t lift her head up to look at her. Barbara rested a hand on top of Lydia’s shoulder but there was still no reaction from Lydia. What was going on?</p><p>“Lydia,” Barbara said, a frown forming on her face when she still didn’t get a single reaction from the teenager.</p><p>She gave up after about fifteen minutes, heading out of the kitchen and into the living room, sitting herself down on the couch next to her husband. </p><p>Adam looked to her, worried. “Barbara, honey, is something wrong?”</p><p>“Lydia’s acting as though she cannot see or even hear me.” Tears began to pour from Barbara’s eyes. Adam reached a hand out, gently wiping each tear from his wife’s eyes before caressing her cheek with it.</p><p>“She’s been acting the same around me,” Adam spoke softly. Barbara’s eyes widened in confusion.</p><p>“Is she really?” A soft laugh escaped Barbara’s throat. “I wonder what’s going on.”</p><p>At that moment, Charles and Delia came downstairs. They suddenly stopped, seeing the Maitlands sitting together in the living room, holding onto each other. They couldn’t quite tell but it looked like the two ghosts were crying about something. Charles and Delia were left to wonder exactly what was going on.</p><p>They turned their attention over towards the kitchen of the house, spotting Lydia. From the looks of it, Lydia was just looking down at her phone. Paying little to no attention to either ghost. That explained everything.</p><p>Charles and Delia entered the living room, sitting themselves down on the couch directly across from the Maitlands. Both ghosts looked up, their ice cold faces stained completely with wet tears.</p><p>“What’s going on?” Charles asked the two ghosts, an eyebrow raised. Although it was clear he already knew the answer. </p><p>Barbara chose to speak up first, holding back as more tears threatened to spill from her eyes. “Lydia’s been acting like she can’t see or hear us,” she gestured to herself and then to Adam, “all morning. I don’t even know what’s going on.”

</p><p>The Deetzes looked at one another before refocusing their attention back over towards the Maitlands. Did they even know what April Fools’ Day was? It wouldn’t hurt to even ask.</p><p>“You two are aware it’s April Fools’ Day today, right?” A slight chuckle escaped Charles’s throat. The two ghosts nodded in response. </p><p>“Yeah?” Adam scratched his head. “Why ask?”</p><p>“She’s probably just playing a joke on you guys,” Delia said with a laugh, gesturing a hand over towards the kitchen. “Why don’t you go ask?”</p><p>The Maitlands looked at one another and sighed in unison, making their way towards the kitchen of the house. They sat themselves next to Lydia and Barbara rested a hand on her shoulder. </p><p>“Lydia,” Barbara spoke up a second time. Although this time, her tone of voice was quieter than it was the last time she tried to get Lydia’s attention to no avail.</p><p>Lydia quietly mumbled, but still didn’t lift her head to look up towards either ghost. That was a good start, right?</p><p>“Lydia?” Adam tried to say.</p><p>This time, there was no mumbling and still no reaction from Lydia. The Maitlands looked at one another, slowly making their way back into the living room and sitting down on the couch, allowing Charles and Delia a chance to talk to Lydia. Perhaps they could get her to tell the Maitlands that her ignoring them was nothing but an April Fools’ Joke. </p><p>Barbara motioned for Charles and Delia to go into the kitchen and the couple did so. Sitting themselves down next to Lydia. Charles rested his hand on top of his teen daughter’s shoulder. “Lydia,” Charles spoke. This earned him a reaction from the teenager.</p><p>Lydia took her eyes off her phone and glanced over towards her dad. “Yeah?” She asked.</p><p>“Is you ignoring the Maitlands an April Fools’ Day Joke, Lydia? They’ve been trying to get you to talk to them all morning,” the tone present in Charles’s voice was full of confusion.</p><p>“Well, yeah,” Lydia spoke up softly, a slight snicker escaping her throat. “What else would it be?”</p><p>“Lydia, they took your joke a little too literally. They’ve been crying and thinking you can’t see or hear them all morning.”</p><p>Lydia took a quick glance over towards both of the Maitlands, who smiled at her, before refocusing her attention back to her dad. The Maitlands did know she would never refuse to talk to them, right? After all, this whole thing was just a joke and not real. Lydia still loved the Maitlands. They knew that.</p><p>“April Fools!” Lydia shouted over towards her secondary, surrogate ghost parents. She stood up, making her way over towards the Maitlands, and sat in between the two ghosts, resting her arms on both of their shoulders. “You guys,” the teen spoke up with a laugh. “This was all just a joke. There was no need to cry and think that I could no longer see or hear you. You guys both took things a little too literally.”</p><p>“We know,” Barbara spoke up, quickly glancing over towards Adam and giving him a knowing wink. “We’ll try not to take things too literally next time.”</p><p>“Thank you,” Lydia spoke. </p><p>Barbara gave her surrogate daughter a soft smile and, without Lydia noticing what exactly was going on, made herself invisible to the teenager along with Adam. </p><p>Lydia closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around what she thought were her surrogate ghost parents. When she felt nothing but cold air, she opened her eyes and glanced to her left then her right. When she saw no sign of either ghost, Lydia began to panic. Then she realized exactly what was going on. 

</p><p>“Guys,” Lydia spoke, a soft, quiet sounding chuckle escaping her throat. “I know you made yourselves invisible to me. Cut it out.” At that, Barbara and Adam made themselves visible to Lydia again. The two ghosts sported widened smiles on their face and Lydia couldn’t keep herself from laughing her head off. </p><p>“APRIL FOOLS!” The Maitlands shouted in unison. </p><p>“You guys got me,” Lydia spoke softly in between snickers, “good.”</p><p>“We did, didn’t we.” Barbara looked to her husband and smiled. Lydia moved to wrap her arms around the two ghosts, pulling them into a tight hug. A tight hug that screamed ‘please never do that again’. </p><p>Lydia let go of the two ghosts around five minutes later and they moved to start tickling her nonstop. Over in the kitchen, Charles and Delia smiled softly as Lydia became involved in a tickle fight started by the Maitlands. Lydia fell to the floor, laughing hard, and flailing her arms and legs about. The Maitlands both soon stood up from the couch and bent down next to Lydia, continuing to tickle her. </p><p>“Guys, cut it out...” Lydia howled with laughter as she tried using her powers, to no avail, to push the Maitlands’ hands away. But every time she did, they’d reach their hands out again and resume tickling her.</p><p>“Never!!!” The Maitlands shouted in unison. They continued on with tickling the teenager, earning even louder laughs from her. Was this ever going to stop? No. No it was not.</p>
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